Felt conditioner for paper machines



July 12, 1927.

w. P. FEENEY FELT CONDITIONER F OR PAPER MACHINES 2 Sheets-Skeet 1 Filed March 5, 1926 O O O O O O O O O O ATTORNEY 1,635,317 w. P. FEENEY FELT CONDITIONER FOR PAPER MACHINES July 12, 1927.

Filed March 5, 192i 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

'eign matter adhere back to their original Patented July 12, 192.7.

1". rhini is as cfiniei' ean, iitIcHIeA'n.

Application fiieufiareh s, 19%; serial m. 91,916.

The present invention relates'generally to;

paper malring machines and the like more particularly to a felt conditioner fdr restoring automatically the felts,'which"have the felt carrier to transfer. a thin sheetaof. The pulp is then the pulp to the carrier. conveyed over a series-of rollers and particu larly one or I more pressing rollers I which apply a veryv substantial pressure to'thje'p'ulp to remove the liquid therefrom, which is absorbed by the felt. The thinlayer of pulp is then removed from the carrier which returns to'receive a fresh: layer. The felt, in

passing through the Variousp'ressure rollers,

becomes compressed and the fibers matted together, so that dust and particles of fortoand close upthe interstices ofthefe'lt and itfails to Perform its usual functions. In the old'. types; of niachines, this necessitated removing the felt about every twenty-four hours, to subject it to various cleaning; operations which damaged the felt, and shortened its life "to a marked degree. Rollers with needle points projecting from the surface thereof. have been used as perforating deVicesJtorender the felt porous, but these naturally damage it and'decrease its se'rviceability without'ma terially restoring its original absorbing qualities;

The present construction is an improvement upon the inveiition'shown inmy Patent No. 1,567,584 dated December, 29th, 1925, and contemplates cally to separate the fibres and bring them shape or condition without removing the felt from the machine, and at the same time, to spraywater thereon for removing any, particlesof. dust-onother material clogging the interstices'of the felt and to remove the'water and'foreign matter from the felt by subjectlng'its surface to" a vacuum, In this manner,

the operation ofthe machine and shut- I downs are reduced to a minimum. The'serv icea-bility of the felt is greatly increased.- due from which the paper made isplace'd' working the feltautom'ati- A the felt :is auto m-aticallyreconditioned, and washed during to the fact that it is not subjected toany destructive cleaning operations but the fibres are gently separated and restored to their originalucondition.

An' object of the present invention isfto recondition the felt'used inpaper .m'achine's arid the like by subjecting it to a roller hav-1 ing' a series of dome-like projections which distort and separate thefibers of the felt and bring-them back to their original condi tion; to spray the felt with liquid adjacent the roller for removing foreign matter there from; and to subject the felt to a vacuum for removing the liquid andother' matter.

Other and further objects oftheinvention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrated embodiment about to be de-, scribed, or will be indicated in the appended ClflllnS," I

merit of the invention. in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been} chosen for the'purpos'eof illustration-and description, and is shown in the accompan'ying drawings, wherein Fig 1 is a sectional view versely of the felt along the line 11 of .Fig, 2 is a sectional view through the rollingand spraying mechanism taken along theline 22 of Fig.1;

"Fig. 3is a sectional vlew along the line; 33 of Fig. 1 showing the path of the Fig.- 4 isa 'detailediview of thefelt conditio'ning' roller away to' show the mounting thereof; and I Figu e is aj-sectional view showing features ofthe suction mechanism,

In the present description, while the various' parts of the paper making machine are not shown, it will be understood that the belt 10 extending over the rollerslh lil', l3,

1 14, 15' and lti, isa portion of an endless belt of. felt or the like which, contacts with a roller partially immersed in apnlp liquid to receive a ,coat1ng' thereof, which is- CHI'IIQC on the felt through one =ormore pressure rollers and thenremoved, ,The present invention is shown applied'to the felt on its return towrec'eive another coating of pulp andmay for convenience framework of the, machine.

At some suitable point i beltsuch as between the rollers 12 and 13,

the path of the and many. advantages other than those herein specifically referred to willoc-v our to one skilled in the art upon employ taken ,trans-.

with certain parts broken,

be mounted on the I a roller 20 is provided having a series of apertures 21 therein adapted to receive the I threaded shanks 22 of the dome-like projections 24 mounted on the surface of the roller to engage the felt and work the fibers therein back to their original condition. The apertures in the roller are formed in longitudinal rows on the surface thereof and preferably staggered so that the edges of the projections in one row will be ad acent the centers of the projections in an adjacent row. In this manner the projections are lapped so that there will be no streal'ing of the felt.

To mount and properly support the roller 20 transversely of the felt, there is provided on the channel member 17 of the framework of the machine, a shaft 26 mounted in brackets 27 bolted to the member 17. Keyed to the shaft are a pair of arms 28 having inwardly extending barrels 29 on their free ends, into which suitable ball-bearings 30 are mounted and retained in position by means of the plugs 31, threaded into tl e ends of the barrels. The shaft of the roller 20 is carried by the ball-bearings 30 to permit free rotation thereof.

The roller 20 may be properly adjusted against the felt 10 or raised to its ineffective position by means of the lever keyed to shaft 26 and may be held in the desired position by the ratchet 34 keyed to shaft 26 and pawl 35 mounted on the bracket 36.

In some instances, it is desirable tocleansc the felt and to remove any foreign matter which may adhere thereto, and forthis purpose there is provided a pair of supporting members 38 attached to the arms 28 and adapted to receive at their upper portions the tube 39 plugged at one end as shown at 40, and having a row of apertures adapted to accommodate a series of nozzles 42 for;

An ad ustable supplying liquid thereto. clamp 44 held in position by the wing nut 45 may be utilized for permitting rotation of the tube 39 for adjustment of the nozzles with respect to the roller 20 and for directing the liquid as desired. A hose 47 is suitably attached to the open end of the tube 39 for supplying liquid, preferably water, to the nozzles;

The surface of the felt to which the liquid is applied preferably is subjected to a suction device 48, which may comprise a tube 49 rotatably mounted in brackets 50 with a second tube 51 mounted above it andconnected with it by a pair of conduits 52 which are welded to each of the tubes to hold them in their proper position with respect to each other. The upper part of the tube 51 has a slot 54 whose length is slightly less than the width of the felt so that it will be completely covered when the felt passes over it. The width of the slot is sufficiently narrow to produce a very strong current of air through the felt with a pump of normal capacity.

A narrow slot has the advantage that the suction is greater with a pump of normal capacity and will draw the felt into the slot, thereby distorting and enlarging the interstices on the lower side thereof to facilitate removal of foreign matter by the current of air passing therethrougl'i. In this manner the Water and foreign matter are removed from the felt and the felt is rendered more porous by the additional stretching and slackening of the fibres therein.

The slot 54 may be moved into effective and ineffective positions with respect to the felt, by-means of the lever 58. A slot 56 in one of the brackets 50, acommodates a projection 57 on the tube 49 to control the extreme positions of the mechanism as shown in solid and broken lines in Fig. 5. A suitable vacuum, pump 60 may be connected through the pipe 61 to the open end of the tube 49 for supplying the necessary suction.

'In the operation, of the device, the pawl 35 is raised and the lever 37 adjusted to apply the necessary pressure to the feltlO to cause the projections 24 to press upon the feltto stretch and slacken the fibers therein, and to permit them to assume their original condition. The projections 24 are sufficiently large in curvature to distort the portions of the felt slightly without damage, thereby separating the fibres and increasing the absorbing power of the felt. The nozzles 42 may be adjusted and Water applied to the roller and the felt to wash away any foreign matter such as dust and the like, adhering to the felt. If it is desired to use the roller without spraying the felt, the water supply may be turned 03 and the roller 20 alone used with or without the suction mechanism. hen the spraying devices are utilized, the suction mechanism 48 is raised to its upright position by means of the lever 58 to apply sufficient suction to remove the liquid and foreign matter from thefelt.

It will be seen that the above invention effectively restores the felt used in paper ing it into the slot and forming a long narrow trough therein, thereby enlarging the interstices on the lower side of the felt so that the current of air will remove the foreign matter therefrom. The roller for working the felt, the spraying devices, or the suction mechanism may be applied to the felt independently, or in conjunction with the other mechanisms, and independent adjusting mechanisms permit the adjustment of any one of the devices Without interfering With the others.

As various changes may be made in the above embodiment Without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, all matter herein set forth is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising means having a metallic surface with a plurality of threaded apertures therein and metallic dome-like pro jections with threaded shanks adapted to be secured in said apertures to engage and press upon the felt.

2. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising means having dome-like projections adapted to engage and distort said felt, and devices for spraying a liquid on said means.

3. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a cylindrical roller extending transversely of the felt having dome-like projections on the surface thereof to engage and separate the fibers of said felt, and means for supplying liquid to said roller to facilitate the restoration of the felt to its natural condition.

4. A felt conditioner for paper machines.

and the like, comprising a cylindrical roller ing dome-like projections on the surface thereof adapted to engage and reshape the fibers of said felt, and means adjustable With respect to the roller for spraying liquid to facilitate the restoration of the felt to its original condition.

5. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a roller extending transversely of said felt, a pair of arms at tached to the ends of said roller for supporting it in proper position, spraying devices mounted on said-arms adjustable with respect to said roller for supplying liquid to said felt adjacent said roller.

6. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a roller extending transversely of said felt, a pair of arms attached to the ends of said roller for supporting it in proper position, spraying devices mounted on said arms adjustable with respect to said roller for supplying liquid to said felt adjacentsaid roller, and means for adjusting said arms to regulate the pressure applied to said felt by said roller.

7. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a roller adapted to engage and press upon the felt, spraying devices adjustable with respect to said roller for spraying liquid on said roller, and means for regulating the pressure applied to the felt by said roller Without disturbing the relation of said spraying devices to said roller.

8. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a roller extending transversely of the felt, spraying devices adjustable With respect to said roller to supply liquid thereto, and means for subjecting the surface of said felt to a Vacuum for removing the liquid therefrom.

9. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a roller, means for supporting said roller transversely of said felt, spraying devices mounted on said means and adjustable Withrespect to said roller for supplying liquid to said felt, and mechanism for subjecting the surface of said felt to a vacuum, means for rendering said roller and said vacuum ineffective.

10. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising means having domelike projections for engaging and pressing said felt, a pair of arms for supporting said means transversely of said felt, spraying devices mounted on said arms and adjustable With respect to said means, mechanism for subjecting said felt to a Vacuum, and levers for removing said means and said mechanism into ineffective positions.

11. A felt conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a pair of tubes mounted one above the other, a conduit interconnecting said tubes one of said tubes having a narrow slot extending longitudi nally thereof to be effective upon felt passed over said slot.

12. A felt'conditioner for paper machines and the like, comprising a tube rotatably mounted, a second tube mounted to rotate about the axis of'said first tube, a conduit connecting said tubes, means connected to said first tube for producing a vacuum therein, said second tube having a narrow slot extending longitudinally thereof to be effective upon felt passed thereover, and means for rotating said second tube into effective and ineffective positions.

WILLIAM P. FEENEY. 

